Christmas is a-coming, and this old goose is getting fat! Well, I would be if I gave in to every mince pie and rich canapé which is already being passed under my nose.

Willpower is a wonderful thing, but for those of us who are on the naughty list when it comes to indulgence, we need an extra hand to squeeze into the seasonal party dress and thankfully, there are a range of treatments out there to help us to do so. This month I popped in to Aura Day Spa on Belfast’s Lisburn Road to test-drive Ionithermie. And within half an hour I’d lost an inch off my hips and half an inch off my waist – which beats a heavy Christmas lunch any day for the best way to spend lunchtime!

Like most people, I am always on the lookout for treatments offering quick, visible and corrective results to achieve a desirable shape without the need for invasive surgery. With a reputation built over the past two decades, Ionithermie offers high performance, results-driven slimming and contouring treatments which still remain the No.1 choice both in the UK and on board luxury cruise liners.

For this review I chose a one-off treatment, but the specialists at Aura advise that you take a course of at least five treatments to see the full benefits. And I can’t help but wonder how many inches I’d lose if I did this twice a week as opposed to just this once… But nonetheless, I upgraded my one-off Express treatment to a deluxe package and had a full body scrub followed by a shower then a back massage before getting down to the serious business of inch loss. The scrub was great – they’re never the most comfortable thing in the world, but there is a certain Cleopatra-type relaxation in knowing that someone else is scrubbing away your dead skin cells. There’s a purpose to this exfoliation too, it opens the pores and prepares the skin for the body mask which is to come.

And now for the science bit. There are 2 types of technology working in the treatment, firstly Galvanic technology works to penetrate the highly active products deep into the skin to the trapped fatty deposits (triglycerides). The products work to break down the triglycerides ready for elimination. The Galvanic Stimuli improves the blood and lymphatic circulation and helps disperse fluid and toxins out of the system.

Then, the Faradic technology provides a specific form of electrical stimulation designed to tone the muscles. Using electrically conductive pads placed over specific muscle groups it stimulates the motor points triggering an involuntary muscle contraction. In 30 minutes it can provide an intense work out of around 600 squats or sit ups (depending on the area to be treated) without even breaking a sweat. I chose the tummy and hips area for treatment, so it was nice to know I was lying there and my tummy was working away for me.

If you’ve ever tried a Slendertone belt, this part of the technology is pretty similar in that the pads stimulate involuntary muscle contraction, but I have tried Slendertone before, and this was much more intense – I really felt like I was benefiting as soon as the machine turned on.

The Galvanic mask, which is an algae-infused, marine clay, was placed over my back and all across my tummy area being treated and it was really quite warm and cosy (which I imagine gives the ‘thermie’ element to the treatment’s name). The gentle electrical stimuli are penetrated through the clay via small conductive pads to target the subcutaneous fat cells and trapped fluids, but to me it just felt like a warm but deep massage. I felt so relaxed in the Chill Room afterwards that I almost fell asleep.

In short, I really loved the treatment and to see the results before your own eyes at the end is also a bonus. The great thing is that this treatment also works for men and if you choose the Cheek Lift or the Hip & Thigh Sculpture you can achieve great results on cellulite and general body contouring too. I’m seriously considering the arm treatment for my next visit – I could be the next Michelle Obama!

On a serious note, as with many of these treatments there is a commitment to down time too. It wouldn’t be ideal to head straight to McDonald’s afterwards and expect the inches to stay off, so a healthy diet and lots of water are also advised along with a home care regime which includes further body brushing, exfoliation and massage.

If you have a party to go to and a party dress to get into, then get into Ionithermie, it’s a fabulously relaxing way to lose inches and feel great.